NY Knicks: “Draft or Pass” on 3 recently linked prospects

NY Knicks draft target No. 3) Sharife Cooper

Last but certainly not least, we have the one-and-done starting point guard for the Auburn Tigers, Sharife Cooper making his way onto the list.

Easily the least efficient position for the NY Knicks this past season was point guard, which likely means that the front office will be working constantly to try and find a way to better bolster the rotation to make it less of a liability come 2021-22.

Many believe the Knickerbockers can find a way to address the one spot in this year’s draft, and Buckley lists Cooper as one of the answers for them.

Citing his effectiveness as a distributor and impressive array of tricks as an overall creator, B/R seemingly loves the concept of bringing aboard the 20-year-old at pick No. 19:

"As they discovered during the playoffs, the Knicks need more playmakers around Julius Randle. Sharife Cooper might be up to the challenge. The 20-year-old is a natural lead guard. What he lacks in physical tools (6’1″, 180 lbs), he more than makes up for with tremendous feel and better handles. He gets where he’s trying to go, and he can throw every pass in the book. Cooper’s size will make him a target on defense, and his outside shot needs work (22.8 percent). But he didn’t just stumble into per-game contributions of 20.2 points, 8.1 assists and 8.6 free-throw attempts. He’s a talent."

Now, by no means are we going to argue with Buckley’s above stance on Cooper, for all of his points are spot on.

That said, there are some areas of undeniable weakness within his game that should be of serious concern for all interested teams, with the most notable of which being his inefficient shooting abilities.

Yes, while he did manage to generate a ton of foul line attempts, and when at the stripe converted at an 82.5 percent clip, his other clips of just 39 percent shooting overall from the floor and a putrid 23 percent shooting from deep could prove to be a major red flag for Leon Rose, especially considering they need competent shooters almost as much as they need more options at the one.

Like our point with Murphy, Sharife Cooper is a prospect that has been found all over mock drafts, with some seeing him even falling to as low as the second round.

Absolutely a fun/ raw talent to envision donning the orange and white threads, but perhaps opting to take him at 19 when they could just as easily take him at 21 or, perhaps, even 32nd (Sports Illustrated recently had them nabbing Cooper here) could push them away from the idea at this point in the draft.

Verdict: Pass